Refuse packer



y 2, 1969 E. s AAAAAAA ER 3,456,777

INVENTOR EDWARD SAGMEISTER BYMv W ATTORNEYS.

y 1969 E, SAGMEISTER 3,456,777

REFUSE PAGKER Filed June 26, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTCR EDWARD SAGMEISTER BYMYE ATTORNEYS.

3,456,777 REFUSE PACKER Edward Sagmeister, P.O. Box 365, RR. 5, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Filed June 26, 1967, Ser. No. 648,928 Claims priority, application Canada, June 27, 1966, 964,053 Int. Cl. B65g 33/00; B60p 1/00 US. Cl. 198-213 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure describes refuse handling apparatus having screw conveyor means for moving the refuse and means for keeping the conveyor means free from refuse.

Background of the invention This invention relates to refuse handling apparatus and more in particular to apparatus for feeding refuse into a refuse vehicle.

It has been known to provide screw conveyors which on rotation draw the refuse therewith into the refuse container. However, with the use of this type of refuse handling apparatus certain problems have arisen. Firstly, the refuse tends to adhere to the surfaces of the screw and thereby clog the screw. In addition, real difficulty is en countered when refuse containing wire, rope, string or articles of clothing are being fed into the apparatus. These elongated articles tend to wind around the shaft carrying the screw conveyor and thereby impede the rotation of the conveyor. In such cases the conveyor mechanism has to be stopped and the offending wire or elongated article removed from the conveyor shaft. These unnecessary stoppages may be to a large extent eliminated by use of the refuse handling apparatus of the present invention.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention the refuse handling apparatus comprises a refuse receiving body provided with an opening at one end, screw conveyor means mounted for rotation adjacent the opening, and a scraper member which is resiliently urged against the discharge end of the screw conveyor means.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the scraper member is provided with cutting edges, one which serves to dislodge refuse adhering to the actual screw and the other to sever the elongated articles wound around the shaft of the conveyor means.

Also, according to another preferred embodiment of the invention, stop means are provided to limit the movement of the scraper member in the direction in which it is being urged.

The present invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, preferred embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the refuse handling apparatus according to the present invention, partly broken away for the sake of clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional plan view of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of one of the scraper members according to the embodiment shown in FIG- URE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the scraper member shown in FIGURE 3.

Description of the preferred embodiments As shown in FIGURE 1 the refuse apparatus comprises a refuse receiving body denoted by the general refited States Patent erence character 10 pivotally attached in any suitable manner to the rear end of the refuse vehicle body '11.

According to a preferred embodiment, the refuse receiving body comprises two side walls 12 and 13, a front section 14 and a sloping bottom section 15, which is formed with a medial projection 16 in the shape of an inverted, forwardly diverging V. The refuse receiving body is further provided with a roof portion 17 which slopes rearwardly downward toward the bottom section 15. The front section 14 extends only part way down between the side walls and defines an opening 18 at the front of the refuse receiving 'body.

Two helical discs 19 are mounted for contrarotation in the refuse receiving body adjacent the opening '18. Each disc 19 is fixedly carried on a shaft 20 mounted at one end in suitable bearing means 21 and at the other end in bearings 22 which, according to a preferred form of the invention, may be incorporated in the drive means 23 (see FIGURE 2). The drive means are supported by a suitable cross member 24 and for example mav each comprise an electric motor whose armature is formed by shaft 20. On each side wall adjacent the opening a scraper member 25 is pivotally attached. As seen from FIGURES 3 and 4 the scraper member 25 is adapted for pivotal movement about a pivot pin 26 attached to the side wall of the refuse receiving body. Also carried on the pin 26 is a spring 27 formed with a projecting lug 28 at each end. One of the lugs 28 bears against the forward surface of the scraper member of plate 25, while the other lug 28 bears against the adjacent side Wall of the refuse receiving body at a position rearward of the scraper plate.

The above described pivotal arrangement resiliently urges the scraper member or plate against the forward face of one of the helical discs 19.

Each of the scraper members 25 comprises a substantially flat metal plate 29 which is bent at one end into a small arc and is provided with at least one cutting edge 30. It will be seen from FIGURES 1 and 2 that the scraper members are disposed in the opening 18 and extend completely across the forward end of the screw conveyors in a horizontal direction.

There will now be described the manner in which refuse deposited in the refuse receiving body is fed into the refuse vehicle. The refuse which is deposited on the sloping bottom section 15 of the refuse receiving body tends to gather in the vicinity of the helical discs 19 which, on rotation, draw the refuse through the opening 18 and into the refuse vehicle body 11. As the helical discs rotate, the resiliently urged scraper members follow at least part of the contour of the helical disc surfaces thereby dislodging any refuse adhering to the surfaces of the helical discs 19. According to a preferred feature of the invention, a stop member 31 is located on the wall adjacent each scraper member 25 to limit the amount of movement of the scraper member in the direction in which it is urged. In this way, spilling out of refuse from the refuse vehicle through opening 18, under the pressure of refuse packed therein as the plate follows the contour of the helical disc is obviated or mitigated. The bottom edge of the scraper plate may also be provided with a cutting edge 32 to sever any elongated articles such as rope or articles of clothing which may be Wound around the shaft 20. To reduce the wear on the surfaces of the helical discs which are in contact with the scraper members, rollers may be provided adjacent the cutting edge 30 of the scraper member 25 as shown in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 3. In the commercial embodiment of the invention the upper half of the discs and their mountings are encased in a casing 33 (as shown partly broken away in FIGURE 1) to prevent refuse from being thrown against the roof portion of the refuse receiving body by rotation of the screws.

"What I claim as my invention is:

1. Refuse handling apparatus, comprising a refuse receiving body provided with an opening at one end there of, at least one screw conveyor means, means for rotatably mounting said screw conveyor means in said refuse receiving body and adjacent said opening, means for rotating said screw conveyor means to draw refuse deposited in said refuse receiving body through part of said opening, and at least one scraper member disposed across the entire remaining part of said opening, means to resiliently urge said member against one end of said screw conveyor means and extending at least half-way across said screw conveyor means in a horizontal direction, to dislodge refuse from said screw conveyor means.

2. Refuse handling apparatus as in claim 1 comprising two screw conveyor means rotatably mounted for contrarotation, each of said screw conveyor means extending substantially half-way across said opening in 'a horizontal direction and two scraper members which extend in a horizontal direction completely across said screw conveyor means.

3. Refuse handling apparatus as in claim 2 wherein each scraper member is provided with at least one cutting edge.

4. Refuse handling apparatus as in claim'*-3'wl1erein stop means are provided to limit movement of the scraper member in the direction in which said scraper member is resiliently urged.

5. Refuse handling apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the scraper member extends down across substantially half of said screw conveyor means in a vertical direction and is provided with a cutting edge.

6. Refuse handling apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the screw conveyor means comprises a helical disc.

7. Refuse handling apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the scraper member is provided with rollers adjacent the I cutting edge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 21483.32 

